


Find Light in the Beautiful Sea

by angelsaves



Category: Figure Skating RPF, Olympics RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Merpeople, Podfic Welcome, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 07:10:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13565451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelsaves/pseuds/angelsaves
Summary: A fantasy AU, in which Nathan Chen and a handsome merman meet-cute on the beach.





	Find Light in the Beautiful Sea

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to mardia for betaing! 
> 
> [here](https://imgur.com/a/pTJ9N) are some terrible photoshops i made so you can ~envision the characters. you're welcome.
> 
> title from "diamonds," which adam is skating to this season.

Nathan is minding his own business, taking a walk by the beach, being normal, when all of a sudden, there's one hell of a splash, and something lands on him, knocking him to the sand. At first, he thinks it's a really big fish, but most fish, in his experience, don't push themselves up with impressively muscled arms and greet him with, "Hi, handsome!"

"Uh," Nathan says. "Hi?"

"Listen, you're human, right?"

"...last time I checked?"

"I need your help. Can I borrow your legs?"

Nathan blinks. "Borrow... my legs?" he repeats.

"Not, like - you can keep them! I just need to, you know. Copy them." The guy gestures down at his lower body, which - okay, Nathan was apparently not entirely wrong when he thought _fish_ , because from the waist down, the guy has... a tail. With scales.

"Copy them," Nathan says, feeling like a particularly confused parrot. "Sure, I guess. Will it hurt?"

"Not a bit," the... fish-guy promises. "Mermagic is awesome like that. Just hold still for a second, okay?"

Nathan nods. The fish-guy - merman? He has gills. Do mermen have gills? - heaves himself off of Nathan, then runs one hand quickly down Nathan's right leg, from hip to toe. A weird sensation follows his touch, like bubbling water, but it's true, it doesn't hurt.

" _Awesome_ ," the merman says again. Nathan glances over, then away just as fast, because now he's got legs and everything he might expect between them, and he's very, very naked.

"Let's get you some shorts," Nathan suggests. Fortunately, the boxer-briefs he's wearing under his basketball shorts are clean and don't have holes in them; he can -

"Oh, right!" the merman says cheerfully. "I forgot: nudity taboo! You can look now."

Nathan does, taking in the sight of tight dark blue pants and an aqua mesh shirt. "That's a cool trick," he says.

"Thanks! I'm Adam. What's your name?" Adam smiles, showing sharp white teeth. "I can't just keep calling you 'handsome.'"

"I mean, if you want," Nathan says without thinking, then, "Nathan. My name's Nathan."

Adam laughs. "Okay, Handsome Nathan. Want to come with me?"

"Sure," Nathan says. "Uh. Where are you going?"

"The Seelie Court, of course!"

"Oh, of course. What's the Seelie Court?"

"Don't worry," Adam says. "I'll tell you everything you need to know." He gets to his feet, with surprising grace for someone who had a tail until two minutes ago, and studies Nathan. "We might want to dress you up a little, first. Do you mind?"

"Nah," Nathan says. Adam skims his hands over Nathan's clothes with that bubbling feeling again, and when Nathan looks down at himself, his jogging clothes have been swapped for something tight and black with silver accents. "Cool!"

"Very nice," Adam says, winking at him. "Now, let's see if my friend Tanith can give us a lift." He makes a complicated gesture in the air and whistles a little trill.

A girl in a floaty lavender dress, with iridescent wings like a dragonfly's, pops into existence, and Nathan's mouth drops open. "Adam!" she says happily. "What are you doing on dry land? Who's your friend?"

"Tanith, this is Nathan!" Adam claps an oddly cool hand on Nathan's back. "We need a lift to the Court. Can you help?"

Tanith studies him. "How do you feel about flying, Nathan-the-human? I can make that happen, or I can summon my husband and his horse."

"Tanith's married to a human," Adam says proudly. "He's a knight errant, and she's a sylphide. Air powers, you know."

"Right. Uh, flying is fine. Do I get... wings?" Nathan asks.

Tanith flutters one hand. "Too complicated for a short trip. I'll just make the air carry you."

"Oh," Nathan says, bewildered. "Of course."

She whistles, and Nathan feels abruptly lighter, and taller, too - he's floating a few inches above the ground. "Here we go," Tanith says, and it's like being pushed and pulled at the same time: he rises further into the air and starts to fly. "Whoa," he says.

"Cool, right?" Adam says, nudging him.

"Yeah," Nathan says enthusiastically. "I've had dreams like this."

"Me too!"

As they fly along in Tanith's wake, Adam tells Nathan all about the Seelie Court. Apparently, it's where all kinds of magical beings (like his new friends) congregate, ruled by a queen named Meryl, who can sometimes be persuaded to do people favors.

"That's why I'm going there," Adam explains. "My duchess, Ashley, needs a writ of passage between two bodies of water."

"So are you, like, a diplomat?" Nathan asks.

"Kind of," Adam says, sounding pleased. "Nothing really formal, yet, but I dabble."

"That's cool." Nathan doesn't recognize the scenery below them; he's not sure if that's the aerial view or if they've gone into, like, another dimension or something. "Where are we?"

"Fairyland," Tanith says over the beating of her wings. Nathan thinks the "duh" at the end is implied by her tone.

"Did we, like... go through a portal or something?" he presses anyway.

"It's complicated," Adam says, taking pity on him. "Sometimes Fairyland and your world connect, and sometimes they don't. It depends on the place and the time, and... stuff."

"So when you landed on me, was I in Fairyland, or were you in LA?"

Adam shrugs helplessly. "Sort of both? The ocean is one of those places where it's easier for the worlds to connect, and you're..." He trails off, the tips of his ears turning red.

Huh. Nathan kind of likes that. "I'm what?" he asks, trying not to smile.

"You're the kind of person somebody might want to visit another world for," Adam says, blush deepening. "That makes it easier too."

"Aww," Nathan says, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "You really do think I'm handsome!"

"Well, I have _eyes_ ," Adam says huffily.

"You're pretty handsome yourself," Nathan says. "If you were wondering."

"I don't need to wonder!" But Adam is smiling as he says it, sort of sidelong and shy, and Nathan _really_ likes that.

"Okay, guys, we're almost there," Tanith calls back to them.

"Thanks, babe!" Adam says. Their flight slows gradually, and they descend gracefully into a clearing with a circle of flowers in it.

"See you guys later," Tanith says, and flutters away as they thank her.

Nathan looks curiously at Adam. It doesn't look very court-like to him, and now they're alone there.

"Take my hand," Adam says, holding it out. It's cool, and the fingers are slightly webbed between Nathan's. "Here we go!"

Together, they step through the circle of flowers, and into - well, something a lot more like Nathan was expecting: a gorgeous, high-ceilinged room, packed with interesting-looking people, lit with tiny glittering lanterns, and full of cheerful music.

"Whoa," Nathan says.

Adam squeezes his hand. "I know, right?"

"Count Adam of Shining Sky Duchy and... human companion," says a loud, clear voice. Nathan jumps a little.

"Approach the throne!" A path clears, giving him a good look at a beautiful, pointy-faced woman, flanked by two beautiful, pointy-faced dogs, sitting on a high silver throne. Nathan follows Adam a step or two behind, going to one knee and bowing his head when Adam does so.

"You may rise," the woman says. "What's up, Adam? Who's the cutie?"

"Queen Meryl, this is Nathan, a human I... met." He glances at Nathan and winks. "Nathan, may I present Meryl, the Seelie Queen?"

"Greetings, uh, your majesty," Nathan says, bobbing his head.

"What does Ashley want this time?" the queen asks, propping her chin on one hand and scratching one of the dogs behind the ears with the other.

"She'd like a writ of passage from Shining Sky to Sapphire Honor Lake," Adam tells her.

The queen nods. "Done. I'll have my seneschal write it up right away. Anything else?"

"Uh." Adam looks at Nathan shyly. "...this is for me, not her grace, but... permission to court a human?"

Queen Meryl tries to look stern, but her eyes are twinkling. "How does the human feel about it?" she asks.

Nathan grins. "Really good, your majesty."

"Then you have my permission," Queen Meryl says grandly. One of the dogs barks like it's agreeing with her.

"Thank you, your majesty!" Adam bows and tugs Nathan after him.

Once they're lost in the crowd, Nathan takes the opportunity to ask Adam, "So, what does courting entail in your world?"

"Oh, you know," Adam says. "The usual. Food, dancing, sex."

"In that order?" Nathan asks, glancing around at the couples and groups surrounding them and moving to the music.

"Mmm, the first two can be shuffled. Why? Not hungry?"

"Not for food," Nathan dares to say.

Adam grins at him. "So dance with me."

Nathan places one hand on his shoulder, the other at his waist, the way it looks like the fairies and assorted beings around them do. Adam is pure muscle, sleek under his touch; he copies Nathan's position, and they start to dance. It's nice.

"This is nice," Adam says, echoing Nathan's thoughts.

"You dance pretty well for a guy who doesn't usually have legs," Nathan says.

"Well." Adam blushes. "I might have... overstated that a bit. I'm a shapeshifter, really. I walk on land about half the time."

Nathan gives him a severe look. "You didn't need to borrow my legs at all, did you? You were just hitting on me."

"You're good!" Adam says with a cheeky grin. "Besides, your ass is nice, but is it _this_ nice?" He twists to show off what Nathan can admit he'd already noticed was a pretty great ass.

"Maybe not," Nathan says. "So that's yours? I mean, like..."

"It would totally not be weird to say you wanted to pound it," Adam assures him.

"Good." Nathan lets the hand at Adam's waist trail a little lower, down to the swell of his ass. "I really do."

"Awesome," Adam breathes. He presses his hips closer to Nathan's, and now they're basically grinding on the dance floor.

Even though they're not the only ones, or the raunchiest, Nathan is starting to feel a little awkward. "Can we, uh..."

"...get a room?" Adam finishes. "Yeah, handsome, we can do that." He winks.

Nathan shouldn't find that so attractive, but oh, God, he does. "Cool." He lets Adam lead the way off the dance floor, through an arch, to a corridor of doorways. "Are all of these just..." He waves one hand. "For people to get busy? I mean -"

"Merpeople say that too," Adam assures him. "And yes, pretty much." He opens one of the doors, and a fuzzy globe of light appears next to it. "Join me?"

"Hell yeah." Nathan follows him inside, where it's all softly lit and golden, and mostly bed. Adam closes the door and plasters himself up against it, looking invitingly at Nathan.

Nathan leans in, planting one hand next to Adam's head and using the other to cup his face. "I don't usually move this fast," he says, "but you're really something else."

"You, too," Adam says. This close, his eyes are startlingly beautiful. Nathan kisses him, and he kisses back, pulling Nathan close by his hair and the small of his back, but letting him set the pace.

Nathan makes it slow at first, soft and thorough; then the gentle, insistent roll of Adam's hips gets to him, and he kisses Adam harder, going hungrily after the soft skin above his gills.

"Oh -" Adam says breathlessly. "That feels so good -"

"Yeah?" Nathan kisses the very edge of one gill, where it flutters, carefully.

"Oh, _scum_ , yes!" Adam bucks his hips, so hot it's maddening. "Just like that!"

It's weird, but in a hot way; of course, Nathan thinks almost anything would be sexy if it came with Adam's thigh pressing roughly against his cock like that. He keeps kissing Adam's neck, making him gasp and rut against him, until Adam pulls his hair hard and says, "Wait!"

Immediately, Nathan lets go, wiping his wet mouth with the back of one hand. "What's up?"

"I just - don't want to come in these pants," Adam says. "They're nice."

"I like the idea of you without pants." Nathan slides both hands under Adam's waistband, meaning to pull his pants off, but he finds himself with two handfuls of Adam's ass, which is really, truly fantastic.

"Mmm," Adam says, moving against him, "this isn't really helping with the whole pants situation."

"Right." Nathan gets back to the business of getting Adam naked. He's gorgeous, all smooth tan skin with an odd glint of aqua to it. His cock is just as nice to look at, gleaming purple and teal like something from a dream. He can't resist wrapping his hand around it, feeling how slick and hard it is.

"Oh, that's nice," Adam says, wriggling with pleasure, "but I want you naked, too."

"I can do that." Nathan undresses quickly, and Adam gives him an appreciative onceover, then twice, lingering on his cock. "Like what you see?" he jokes.

In response, Adam kisses him fiercely, pressing their bodies together hard, and oh, that feels incredibly good. When he pulls back, mouth shiny, he says, "Can we take this to the bed? Please?"

"Yeah, obviously," Nathan says in a rush, and they race for it, landing in a tangle with Nathan mostly on top. He likes the view from here, with Adam sweaty and panting under him. "How do you want to do this?" he asks, pushing himself up on his elbows.

"Like this," Adam says, reaching between them and angling their cocks together, perfect friction. "Oh, yes!"

Nathan groans and bends his head to nuzzle at Adam's gills again. It's strange and wonderful, not at all how he'd pictured his first time going beyond awkward handjobs, and better than he could have imagined, all at once. "God, you're amazing," he manages to say.

"You're - everything," Adam says, and comes all over both of them. It's so screamingly hot that Nathan almost can't take it. He thrusts against Adam's perfect hip cut, kisses the flutter of his gills, and comes so hard it feels like the top of his head is coming off.

Minutes later, wrapped in Adam's arms, Nathan thinks about fairy tales and mumbles, "I wouldn't want you to give up the sea for me."

Adam shifts under him. "Good," he says. "I wouldn't want you to give up the land for me!"

"Good. We can... not," Nathan says into Adam's chest. "And we can do this. It's... good."

"Yeah, it is," Adam says, and Nathan can hear the smile, and the sea, in his voice.


End file.
